HALF TRUTHS.

 

 

 

 

A knock on her door made Sandara jump from her seat and check the time. She turned her pretty make-up free face, hair tied in a high ponytail and nerdy glasses to the intruder.

 

“Time to sleep.”, her younger brother says from the door. “It’s midnight.”

 

“I was just sleeping.”, she says and smiles at Mino. It’s true for she just snoozed after reading what nots from the internet but Mino wasn’t fooled.

 

“With your glasses and your laptop on.” Mino walks closer to her, while Dara stood up. Her younger brother was grinning at her. “Sure you are.” He says sarcastically.

 

“How’s the 1st day on the island?”, she asked while fixing her things. She had no choice but to stop doing what she was doing because Mino stood by her table and she was sure he wouldn’t leave until she was safely tucked in bed.

 

“So so…”, Mino answers and raised his brow. “How’s your day?”

 

“My day went just fine.”, Dara says while climbing onto her bed. “Did you know that the history of the ruins where we are about to film are still unknown. I was trying to look for anything about it but there was none! Now, a café is going to open on it. I can’t believe that no one was even curious where the ruins came from!”

 

“Maybe the owner of the café knows.”

 

“I doubt it.”, Dara thought of the obnoxious guy she met earlier and shrugged. “He doesn’t look like a man who thinks a lot.” Mino laughed.

 

“What time do I wake you up tomorrow?”

 

“I’ll set my alarm.”, Dara says as Mino pulls the blanket over her shoulder and kisses her head. “Why do you always do this?”

 

“Because it’s time to show you that we can take care of you, too.” Mino says. “Good night, Noona.”

 

“Good night, Mino.”

 

 

She was standing at the middle of the ruins, the air playing with her hair and the warmth of the sunlight penetrates her skin. She turned and found herself alone in a place that felt familiar yet not, because she could hardly see anything for it was covered in fog now. She could hear the waves and feel the grass but all she could see nothing. She wanted to speak but she couldn’t find her voice.

 

Then she hears someone cry. A baby’s cry.

 

The fog disappears.

 

She was standing at the edge of the cliff, just as she did in the afternoon.

 

Then she jumped.

 

 

Dara woke up with a thundering heartbeat and a dry throat. She could feel her limbs shaking as she wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead.

 

“What the hell…”, she mutters before checking her phone. She woke up an hour earlier than she set her alarm.

 

 

~0~

 

 

A man in his late 20s, handsome doesn’t actually fit the description but rather cute and charming despite his muscled-physique, clad in a white muscle-tee and black tight-fit pants, walked through the hotel lobby he was staying at. His smile made heads turn and made the ladies blush as he bows in greeting to them. He scans the crowd for his friend but that did not take long for Kwon Jiyong was easy to spot in a crowd of people. But there was hardly any crowd at the restaurant today. There were just a few tables occupied and all the guests paid no heed to the other strangers.

 

The man thought that there was really something off about the island.

 

Or maybe it just wasn’t peak season.

 

Or maybe it was just him, who has been to Hawaii, Bali and the Caribbean, and none of the islands were ever scarce of people. When he finally reached his friend, they share a handshake.

 

“I was wondering when I was going to see you, Mr. CEO.”, Youngbae teased. “You weren’t even at the airport yesterday!”

 

“Sorry, Youngbae. I had a lot on my hands yesterday. I hope you liked the room I got for you?”, Jiyong’s fast response to appease his friend was for naught even though he knew that the latter was just teasing him.

 

“Yeah, the view is great!”

 

“I’m sorry, man.”, Jiyong apologizes again while they were having breakfast at the hotel. “Soft opening was supposed to be this Saturday but even I wasn’t informed that it would be moved. I wouldn’t have asked you to come early if I had known. I hope you hadn’t brought ingredients yet.”

 

“Don’t worry, I haven’t. I thought I’d explore the market here and try out the spices that the island has to offer.” Youngbae drank from his coffee cup but when Jiyong seemed to be in deep thought, he leaned on the table. “How can the owner not be informed?”

 

“Politics.”, Jiyong scoffed. “According to the police in this town, the Mayor himself, made the request because the island has been chosen as a film location, specifically, my café. It will only take days, hopefully, they said, and then we can open. I couldn’t say no.”

 

“Well, look on the bright side.”, Youngbae comforted. “Once the short film gets released, your own café will get the added promotion, right?”

 

But Kwon Jiyong was quiet. His eyes were on the lady that just entered the hotel restaurant, followed by a young girl and 2 younger boys. They sat on the corner table and was immediately served breakfast.

 

“Is that the actress?”, Youngbae asked when he followed his friend’s line of vision. “Man, pictures of her doesn’t give her justice. She’s so much more beautiful in person.”

 

“Is she?”, Jiyong asked and Youngbae rolled his eyes at his friend. The latter got his phone and searched Dara’s name. “How come I haven’t heard about her?”

 

“Well, she went on hiatus after running off before claiming her award a few years ago.” Youngbae looked at his friend and noticed his line of vision. “Same time you went off running to God-knows-where after your parents died.”

 

“What do you mean?”, Jiyong was now curious and Youngbae showed Jiyong Dara’s profile.

 

“I’m sure you know her. She was all over the news even when we were still in school.”, Jiyong in a breath once he saw her picture. The last photo taken at the red carpet. “Ji, are you okay?”, his friend asked when he noticed that Jiyong had paled.

 

“What’s her name?”

 

“Sandara…”, Youngbae says carefully. “Dara Park.”

 

He breaks the kiss and looks at her, “Tell me your name…”. She shook her head,

“I can’t…”, she says. “You won.”

 

A memory calls to mind as he looks at the photo in Youngbae’s phone. He couldn’t be mistaken. She was wearing the same dress except her hair was blonde. 5 years ago, he went on a gambling spree and on his last night, he won and yet he felt like he lost a whole lot more when the woman he kissed left, never to be seen again.

 

 

~0~

 

 

“Sir, this is on such short notice!”, the hotel manager gasps. Nam Taehyun turned his stare towards him while the baby boy was asleep on the crib.

 

“We are in my hotel’s day care center, right?” The young owner gestured to the play room.

 

“Yes, s-s-sir!”, the manager almost stammered in fear at the calm voice yet, sharp eyes of his boss. “To help the couples who are on vacation with their children, to give them some alone time or time to rest!”

 

“Then don’t we hire babysitters? I remember the position on my payroll.” Taehyun calmly runs his fingers thru his soft hair. “So, do I have to remove that position once and for all, along with yours?”

 

“Eh?”

 

“Since, as you said, it is on short notice and though I am wondering why I must notify an employee of my hotel who should be here on working hours that he must be here…” Taehyun took a deep breath. “If you can’t find anyone, then you do it yourself or I will fire you along with whoever should be running this section!”

 

“Yes, sir. I will do it, sir. No problem!”

 

Taehyun thought that his morning couldn’t get worst when his brother had blackmailed him into being the boy’s baby sitter for the day. He made his way to the hotel restaurant to greet his guests. Taehyun approach the group. They seem to be sharing a little small talk, as he wanted to play the role of the perfect host.

 

Dara asked Taehyun about their activities today and the young CEO talked about the tour he had in mind. “The island is small and we could go around the whole place in 3 hours, by land. Besides, it is the usual scene you see in the city. We have a mall and franchises of fast foods, I’m sure you’re not interested in that. I had something different in mind.”

 

“I’m sure this isn’t the usual scene that we see in the city if you’ve visited recently.” Mino countered. “In the city, we have bars and a lot of night life. In this small town, shops close by 7pm and everyone else is asleep at 8.”

 

“It’s a simple town.”, Taehyun says. “People come here when they’re tired of the city.”

 

“They are missing a lot out of life if they decide to stay here.”

 

“Trust me, they don’t. It may come as a surprise to you, but not all humans find the bar scenes or the Gangnam displays as exhilarating that they consider that as missing out on something.”

 

“Don’t mind him, Taehyun.”, Jinwoo says. “He’s just sulky because he misses his crew. Mino is an underground rapper.”

 

“Really?”, Taehyun his head to the side. “Maybe I could interest you to the underground scene in this area.”

 

“What?”, Mino asked. “Isn’t the underground filled with water and more ruins?”, he mocked.

 

“That’s not nice, Mino.”, Dara chastises. “Taehyun is just being helpful. He wants you to have an unforgettable memory on this island as I have instructed, so play nice. I will be on set the next days and you will all be left on your own.”

 

“This is hardly being left on our own, Noona.”

 

“Mino…”, Dara says with more emphasis now. “If you do not want to go, then stay in your room. I’ll ask the guards to not let you out.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“I can do that. I added more security to this hotel and I can bid them as I please.”

 

“You can’t do that!”

 

“Watch me.”, Dara says calmly before leaving the group, along with her entourage but before she completely exited the buffet area, she turned to look at the table on the corner where she was sure that someone was watching her. Kwon Jiyong gave her a mock salute and she gave a curt nod.

 

“So you know each other.”, Youngbae observed the quiet exchange. Jiyong only shrugged.

 

“We might.”, he smiled at his friend.

“Then why didn’t you say hello?”

 

“There is time for that.”, Jiyong stood up and put on his jacket. “For now, we have to fix business.”

 

 

~0~

 

 

When she arrived on set, Sandara was met with the familiar hustle of the filming crew. The director personally meets her and lead her to the seat where her name was branded at the back. A girl was introduced to her and she smiled cordially.

 

“She is the scriptwriter, Ms. Dara.”, the director says. “She’s a senior at the local university and we chose her script for this drama. She’s exceptional and really talented. One of the jewels in this island.”

 

“You can call me Lisa.”, the girl says. “I’m here if you have any questions.”

 

“Now that you have said that, I am quite curious about something.”, Dara says. “Would you know about the history of this ruins?”

 

“You have been ruminating about this since yesterday, Dara.”, Chaerin says. “How about you focus on your lines today and ask about that later, hmm?”

 

“There’s really nothing much.”, Lisa says. “I’ve been born and raised in this island and people don’t talk much about the ruins.”

 

“Do you know who owns it?”

 

“Kwon Jiyong owns it now.”, Lisa says.

 

“I meant the original owner?”

 

“The original owner has died, along with the family who lived here. No one spoke much about them. Actually, no one seemed to know them.”

 

“And how did they die?”

 

“The mistress of the house drowned herself. People said she wasn’t right in the head.”, Lisa answered but then she looked back when she heard someone call her name. “I’ll be back to answer your questions, Ms. Dara.”

 

“Don’t worry, take your time.” Dara smiles. “And thank you.”

 

“Why are you so curious about the history of these ruins?”, Chaerin asked Dara subjects herself to the former’s artistic hands, as she gets transformed into her character. Dara could just shrug. “Have you memorized your lines?” A nod.

 

“Don’t worry, Chae. I am prepared.”

 

 

~0~

 

 

“I thought the opening was pushed back?”, Youngbae asked as they cruised around the island on Jiyong’s mustang.

 

“Yes, but I’m not about to sulk in my house all day because of it. It just gives me more time to arrange things.”

 

“So, where are we going?”

 

“I thought we could visit the market, look for your ingredients. We need more exotic finds. I want us to go all out. Gourmet and simple foods all in one.”

 

“Whoah…” Youngbae interjects. “Slow down, master chef. And how do you propose we do this?”

 

“Not me.”, Jiyong grins. “You! You experiment with what we can find at the market. I will introduce you to one of the island locals and you can work on our menu while we wait. I don’t want you to waste your time while you’re here. I know you get bored easily. On you vacation, I want you to get inspired. We have the sea! We have a lot of material for you!”

 

“Okay, so where am I going to work, seeing that your café is out of bounds…”

 

Kwon Jiyong was thoughtful for a moment before an idea hit him. “I’ll take care of it.”

 

Moments later, after a day of bartering at the local market, Youngbae stood before a small hut, as he would call it. “So…”, he says. “Tsk…and this hut is supposed to be magical like Harry Potter’s tents?”

 

Jiyong thought for a moment and nodded. “I think it is exactly that.”

 

Kwon Jiyong held the door open for Youngbae and after the latter has entered, his eyes scout the area of his supposed café, where he knew that a pretty actress would be busy working and he couldn’t help the smile on his face as he recalled their short exchange just this morning.

 

 

~0~

 

 

“I can’t believe you own a BMW!”, Jisoo exclaims while on the front seat of Taehyun’s top down. “Who are you and how the hell are you so rich?”

 

“Its not my money.”, Taehyun says. “Its my parents’ money. They gave it to me when they died.”

 

“Then it is yours!”

 

“Calm down, Jisoo.”, her older says. “He owns a hotel, of course he can own this kind of car.”

 

“The car has been with the family since I was a baby.”, Taehyun says. “It’s the only car I didn’t put up for sale. I have fond memories from it besides it being the first car that my father bought out of his money. It is the one thing that he treasured the most.”

 

“Do you miss your parents?”, Jisoo asked.

 

“I do. Sometimes, I think of them when I make decisions, whether they will agree or won’t agree. I still think life would have been easier if they were still alive and running everything, you know.”

 

“At least you got to know them. I never knew who my parents were.” With that said, Jisoo turns to the window and stretches her hand out to feel the wind. Taehyun glanced at her and from the rearview mirror, Jinwoo saw the curiosity in the latter’s eyes.

 

“Jisoo was adopted.” Jinwoo informs Taehyun. “My sister brought her home after our brother left. She’s the youngest in the family now and Mino spoils her rotten.”

 

“No, he doesn’t!” Jisoo turns to Jinwoo. “He’s always fighting with me. He doesn’t let me go out alone or at night without his or Jinwoo’s company and he always, always makes fun of my clothes!”

 

“Speaking of, will he be all right?”, Taehyun asks Jinwoo. Mino was left back at the hotel, at his request.

 

“Don’t worry about him.”, Jinwoo says. “I’m sure he will find something to do.”

 

“He’s been sulky since we came.”, Jisoo observed. “I’ve never seen Mino like that before. He’s our family’s clown but when we came here, it’s like…”

 

“He doesn’t want to be here.”, Taehyun says and Jisoo nodded.

 

“It’s not your hotel or your service, Taehyun.”, Jinwoo assures. “He’s just not used to being away from the city.”

 

 

~0~

 

 

“I’m not a kid anymore!”, Mino kicks the bed in his hotel room. There was nothing to do. He was tired of laying down and he has already counted the number of boats arriving at the dock! The wifi was fast but he ran out of things to search for. The tv wasn’t even amusing to be quite honest.

 

He was just plain bored and it wasn’t even lunch time yet!

 

He hated the place.

 

“I have to get out of here.”

 

Mino opened the door of his room, only to find 2 guards waiting. “I just have to go down to get something to it. I’m not grounded, right?” The guards looked at each other and nodded. However, Mino noticed that they were still following him so he did as he said and went down to the hotel restaurant to get something to eat. He stopped by the reception and asked for any recreational activities however only one appealed to him at the moment.

 

“X box! Where?”, he asked and the lady pointed to the room to their left. The said “Playroom” and Mino put a smile on his face and thanked the lady. Once he reached the door, he turns to the guards. “I’ll be playing inside until lunch. You can go grab a quick bite then come back for me.”

 

“Sir, we were asked not to leave your side.”, one of them says. “If Ms. Dara finds out, we can lose our jobs. We will just be out here if you need us.”

 

“Suit yourself.” Mino says and rolled his eyes once he was alone in the room. It was wider than he thought. On his far left is what he assumed to be for the toddlers. There were padded floors, a pool full of balls and slides that was surrounded by a small cushioned gate. In the middle of the room was a pool table that no one has touched. Its mahogany frame as shiny as ever. To its right was a feeding station and to its left was the multimedia room. “Sweet!”, he says. “I have the room all to myself!”

 

He was rummaging for the controls when he heard something. A cry. He could have sworn he was just imagining it however, he heard it again. Mino left the door open and he was sure no one else has entered. Slowly, he stood up and took a peak at the playroom from the multimedia area. There was no one. Then again, his eyes go to the toddler area where a crib was placed. Yeah, he noticed that when he came earlier but he never thought that it would be occupied.

 

There it was again, the sound of a baby crying. He went closer to the crib and found him. A baby who seemed to have just woken up.

 

“Uhm, excuse me!”, he called out, loud enough however, no one else was inside the room. The baby has been crying loudly now and Mino wasn’t sure what to do.

 

“Should I carry you?”, Mino asks the baby but slaps himself mentally for how can he get an answer. He reaches down and taps on the baby’s leg however, the crying didn’t cease. “I think I should carry you.” Even as unsure as he was, Mino’s arms takes the baby and cradles him close to his chest. The crying ceased and the boy looked up at him.

 

“That’s better.”, Mino says with a smile. “Do you want something to eat? Where the hell is your mother?”

 

The baby pouted.

 

“Oh no… forget I said that…”

 

“Hi!”, came a greeting from the door and Mino turned to see a girl. “Sorry for that, did he cry?”

 

“Uh…yeah…are you his mother?”, Mino asked the new comer. She was a petite girl in a white dress and she had a baby bottle in her hands. She looked about the same age of Jisoo and Mino could have sworn that she grimaced when he asked his question. “I’m sorry.”, he amended.

 

“Do I look like I’m one?”, the girl asks as she takes the baby from him. The little boy smiles at the girl and she gently lay him on the crib again before giving his bottle.

 

“No, you don’t.”, Mino answered sincerely. The baby was now peacefully drinking from his bottle and his eyes closed again. “Do you work here?”

 

“Not really.”, came the girl’s reply. “I came to visit a friend who wasn’t here so I just came to help the staff. I had free time so, I thought I’d babysit. How about you?”

 

“I’m here for a vacation with family.”, Mino answered. “I’m Mino, by the way.” He stretched out his hand for a handshake and bowed. The girl stood up and took his hand.

 

“Hayi.”, she says. “I’m from the island. Pleasure to meet you, Mino.”

 

 

~0~

 

 

Take after take, Dara didn’t even ask for breaks and the director was all too pleased with what they had accomplished for the day. Whispers of astonishment from the crew were heard by the loyal manager and friend of Dara and they couldn’t help the smile on their faces.

 

“Did she really take a break from acting?”, asks one of her co-stars.

 

“Dara is such a pro! I think we will be done with this movie in less than a month!”, says another.

 

“She’s a whirlwind! It is hard to keep up!”, says a rookie. “I wish I could be like her someday!”

 

The last frame was being filmed. It was a scene where the actress was looking out onto the horizon. The natural lighting was perfect, the wind played around her as it was supposed to do and the emotions on her face were narrating her story. It is what makes Sandara special and loved by the directors. Even if she didn’t say a word, her beautiful expressive face can already tell a story.

 

The camera zoomed in on the side of her face and she took a glance at the camera, there it was, the crucial take. A single tear fell from her eye then the director shouts, “CUT!” And he was clapping and smiling from ear to ear. “Brilliant Ms. Dara! That was exactly what I was looking for!”, he says as he approached her. “We are done for the day. Tomorrow, we will shoot indoors.”

 

“Really?”, Dara asked and she didn’t hide her disappointment.

 

“Yes, but these are only minor takes. We are almost done with your shots around the ruins. We come back here tomorrow night.”

 

“Oh, great! Thank you.”, Dara could only say.

 

“Because of you, I think everyone was hyped and they all worked hard. We had a lot of great shots today and no one seemed to be tired. So I think, it is I who should thank you.”, the director was almost in tears while holding her hand. “I almost thought you were going to deny our request. I am really happy that you joined us. I cannot thank you enough!”

 

Dara smiled at him and bowed before she allowed herself to be lead back to her staff. Jessi was already by her side while Chaerin waited by her seat.

 

“How was it?”, Dara asked them while the crew began keeping the equipment. “What?”, she asked again when both girls just grinned at her.

 

“Well, as always, you did great! And you know that you did.”, Jessi says.

 

“Its like you were never on hiatus.”, Chaerin added. “How did you feel?”

 

“Huh?”, Dara opened her eyes to Chaerin while the latter was fixing her make up.

 

“How did you feel about working again?”

 

Dara closed her eyes again so that Chaerin could fix her eye make up, then she smiled. “It feels different. I don’t know how to describe it. It felt…”, Dara opened her eyes again. “It felt familiar.”

 

“Well, duh!”, Jessi laughs. “You’ve been through all these since you are an actress, remember?”

 

This time, it was Dara’s turn to laugh. “Right but, it is different yet familiar. Like I said, I don’t know how to describe it. I’m sure I haven’t worked on a project like this before but the place, the whole scenery, it just feels all too familiar and I could get into character immediately. I feel like a whole different person yet not. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

 

Jessi and Chaerin looked at each other then shook her head.

 

“Nevermind.” Dara says with a smile. “Its all right. Thank you for pushing me to do this.”

 

While her staff began loading her clothes and make up to their van, a black SUV parks behind it and Dara approaches. Jessi immediately runs to her.

 

“Excuse me?”, Jessi asks and Dara smiles at her.

 

“I have somewhere to go.”, Dara says.

 

“And?”

 

“I prefer to go alone and I want you and Chaerin to have dinner with my brothers and sister.”

 

“Where are you going?”, Chaerin asked. “You’re not exactly dressed for a night out.” The make up artist looked at Dara from head to toe. She was now wearing boots, jeans and a loose white button down.

 

“I’m not going to party, if that is what you are asking. I have a personal meeting today. If my siblings ask, tell them I’m still with the director.”

 

“And why are we lying to your family?”

 

Dara can only smile at them before she enters the backseat of the car.

 

“I won’t be long. Please understand.”

 

“Its fine.”, Chaerin says then Dara closes the window before the car takes off.

 

“but…”, Jessi about to protest, turns to Chaerin.

 

“Let her go. I’m sure it is important. She says she will be back, then we will wait for her.”

 

“What if something happens…”

 

“I’m not worried, Jessi. I think this is important for her. So let’s go and get back home. I want a dip in the jacuzzi, you are welcomed to share if you want.”

 

“That’s a bribe I can’t turn away from.”, Jessi lets it go and they both leave the filming site.

 

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